The Enemies Of The State

In modern Johor, where development moves at a rapid and promising pace, there is little support left, if any, for detractors attempting to vilify the state and its institutions.

The only possible motive driving those characters is likely to be jealousy or some other self-interest pursuit.

In Malaysia, the sad truth is that the bigger institutions get and the more progress they enjoy, they often become targets of some disgruntled individuals who have nothing to lose by shooting off unsubstantiated allegations. These characters are no more than enemies of the state. 

Examples of such characters are none other than lawyer Kamal Hisham Jaafar and has-been corporate chieftan, Tan Sri Muhammad Ali Hashim. One is a so-called lawyer who has teamed up with a two-bit blogger to spew out hard-to-believe allegations against the State and its Palace. And the other is the high profile former head of state’s investment company, Johor Corporation, who is also spewing out some rather ludicrous arguments against the current establishment.

What both these “entertainers” have in common is simply this: they are clearly unable to fit into the new dynamic and clean leadership that has taken shape at Johor.

Johor’s progress today is the most phenomenal that it has ever been. Here are just some examples:

– the Pengerang oil and gas project will see Petronas pouring in over RM60 bil plus another RM60bil from other investors to hit a total of RM120bil in the next five to six years. The project will create at least 20,000 jobs during the construction phase and 4,000 jobs for highly skilled workers.

– Recently opened Legoland will see 5 mil visitors in the first year alone and has already created 1000 jobs for Johoreans.

– Never have there been more Singapore companies wanting to relocate some of their operations in Johor as now.

– In Desaru, the Government is planning a revamp of previously stalled projects, to have internationally classed hotels and a theme park, to make this place similar to “NusaDua” of Bali’s fame.

Johor Corporation has undergone a revamp that is finally seeing it coming it out of financial dire straits by unlocking all the hidden values in the group, divesting non-cores and by bringing in the right professionals to run its many companies.

For all this to happen, there has clearly been the right push for direction from the top of the state, including its Menteri Besar and the Sultan of Johor.

Indeed, it is noteworthy that in a recent show of support for Sultan Ibrahim, a throng of Johorians turned up to offer their well wishes to the head of state. The journalists covering that event wrote a most noteworthy quote: Johorean Albert Pang, 60, representing the Johor Baru Thoong Nyien Hakka Association, said Johor has progressed and developed rapidly over the years and the Johor Monarch had played a big part in the state development.

So Kamal Hashim and his types should be seen for what they are – nothing more than loud trouble-makers still trying to be heard. The state and country has moved on.

And as if to add insult to injury, Kamal Hisham has actually fled the country for a very interesting reason – he is facing allegations that he has embezzled a sum of RM660,000 from a company called Southern Ads Sdn Bhd.

Not only that. The blogs have said this about Kamal Hisham: “This guy is a crook. Everywhere he goes, he would mention Tuanku’s (Johor Sultan) name. We all know that he had cheated Tuanku on a couple of business deals.”

Here’s where it gets interesting – one of the deals Kamal Hisham is linked to involves sixty million ringgit at the centre of it. So how come this small time guy can be doing such big deals if he only operates from a small shoplot in Johor? Clearly, he has amassed some of these monies unlawfully and is now hiding in Dubai, where no doubt he is living it up. In one of the blogs, Kamal Hisham is seen posing in front of a brand new Mercedes G-Class SUV. So much for claiming he’s a victim.

So this is the character who is trying to vilify a state and its leaders of wrong doing?

As for Ali Hashim, the good news is that he has been quiet for some time. But those who know this character are well aware that he is always planning and scheming something, either to fight against the changes that are taking place or to make some unfounded and dubious allegations that his so called JCorp empire is being broken. But here’s a reminder to Ali Hashim: in the first place, you left JCorp in that broken state, with crumbling debts. And secondly, you should be thankful that the might of the State isn’t coming after you for all the shenanigans that you and your team have pulled off during your tenure as the superman of JCorp, such as the sweetener used to buy-out that fried chicken retailer or whatever inducements received to give such a sweet deal to the Malton group to ink the one-sided deal that favoured that Chinese tycoon over the Pusat Bandar Damansara land. Interesting that this matter has hit the courts now, and we wonder what’s going to surface in all the court documents!

And what about the multi-salaries paid to yourself and your directors in JCorp under your rein.